Safety switches, or lack thereof

[Oaktree]

just imagine what happens when you fall off the seat while the tractor is moving!. and don't say it can't happen!. incidents of that is why safety's are put on in the first place!..

I dunno. It's hard enough to get out of the seat on my tractor there are so many obstructions to climb over, I don't think it's possible to fall out of it!
Only safety switch on mine is on the clutch.

My rider mower had a seat switch that got disconnected real quick. My lawn is anything but smooth, and everytime I'd go over a bump it would bounce me up enough to kill the engine.

I'm all for safe equipment, but when a safety device makes the equipment more difficult to use then it's worse than no device at all.

 

[WranglerX]

..... And then there is the "child proof" safety caps on medicine vials... I hate it when I have to go find neighbors 7 year old to take the cap off for me...

Dale

 

[GeneV]

MY MF GC 1715 has seat safety switch and only kills motor when I leave seat and HST is still in gear..... Biggest pain for me is bumping any lever and engaging something like mid mount PTO lever and its out of neutral position and machine won't start (mid mount PTO has no implement attached and is never used), I have to go over all the lever to ensure all are correctly in neutral) probably need "position locks" for unused levers ... It's a learned procedure like when stopping to get off tractor or shifting into neutral ALWAYS set brake first... When HST in neutral you have no (trans/engine) braking or control you normally have through HST... Something it can be a bit startling...

Conversely when I bought my property there was a JD L120 riding mower mixed in deal... It has seat safety switch disabled and reverse lockout/bypass switch wired around so it would mow in reverse without having to hold down push button...

Lockout can be good or bad but one should try to work with them if possible ...

The real enemy here is lawyers and litigation, that is why manufacturers try to make machines "idiot" proof, much to consternation for educated/intelligent users...

Dale

I had the seat safety switch ziptied in the closed position for exactly that reason, but would cut off the ziptie the few times I mowed with the massey. I had to remove the switch altogether when I replaced the seat because it doesn't line up with it, but I would probably mod a new bracket for it if I decide to mow with the tractor sometime. I'm paranoid about the PTO not shutting off in case I fall off or something, and my hand or foot lands under the deck.


Ditto with your complaint about the seat belt, it just ratchets tighter and tighter with every bump...I eventually have to unbuckle and redraw it coz it gets so uncomfortable.

 

[gwstang]

My Kubota L2501 has the seat safety switch. I don't mind it, as it is a manual and I can put it in neutral to get off and it will still be running. i figured the seat switch would also help in a roll over, as it will kill the engine before damage can be done. Even if belted in, I assume the seat would be lifted off the switch anyway. It does have a feature (takes some maneuvering and waving the magic wand, by lifting the seat a couple of times) for keeping the engine running and pto turning, if need be. Good for running a pto generator, for example. My old 1952 Ford 8N, was supposed to have a neutral safety start switch, by the shift lever. It was missing when I got it. I read about several people starting it, while standing on the ground, and being run over. Ugh, not something I wanted to ever happen. So I got the switch and removed the shift cover and installed it. Also, you could leave the pto in gear when getting off of it. I tried not to do that very often.

 

[Oaktree]

Ditto with your complaint about the seat belt, it just ratchets tighter and tighter with every bump...I eventually have to unbuckle and redraw it coz it gets so uncomfortable.

I've had a couple cars where the shoulder belt would do that. On a really rough road it would get so tight it was difficult to unbuckle.

My old 1952 Ford 8N, was supposed to have a neutral safety start switch, by the shift lever. It was missing when I got it. I read about several people starting it, while standing on the ground, and being run over. Ugh, not something I wanted to ever happen. So I got the switch and removed the shift cover and installed it.

Yeah, I've left the clutch switch connected in my Kioti even though sometimes it's a pain to have to climb on to start it for that reason.
Back in the 70s they used to put clutch switches in cars...mine got bypassed real quick. Fortunately, those weren't around very long.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've bypassed all of my safety switches because they eventually led to me not being able to start it. First, I replaced the bad one, then the next bad one, and then I just started bypassing them. On 3 tractors and my zero turn, I think I've removed a total of 6 safety switches.

 

[WranglerX]

I've had a couple cars where the shoulder belt would do that. On a really rough road it would get so tight it was difficult to unbuckle.



Yeah, I've left the clutch switch connected in my Kioti even though sometimes it's a pain to have to climb on to start it for that reason.
Back in the 70s they used to put clutch switches in cars...mine got bypassed real quick. Fortunately, those weren't around very long.

They still do put them in cars & trucks if you can find one with manual trans...

Dale

 

[Jchonline]

M62 has it right. I can start the machine (HST) and have it in gear without being on the seat. However once I press the pedal (forward or back) if I am off the seat the engine bogs down. its a compromise as there are quite a few times I want to stand to see something on the forks/grapple while moving forward. However if you think about it the seat belt would prevent that anyway. So it is really unsafe to be off the seat and moving. I have just had to learn to work around it.

 

[GeneV]

Some of that safety stuff is bs though, and then people freak out w/o reason. I watched a youtube vid not long ago, some dude was showing features of his scut, forgot which brand, but you know standard hst trans and all that. Anyways, he started up the tractor while he was standing next to it. Comment section was full of busy-bodies..."Omg how dare you, you should only start a tractor when sitting in the seat, waaaaaah!"

Oh ok, wasn't away the tractor could put itself in gear and push its own pedals lol. Virtue signaling, tractor edition.

Anyways, regarding seat belts on tractors, I wish mine was like in a car, holds tight with sudden movement, otherwise slacks up.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

I think the safety switches are both brand and model dependent. My LS MT125 had safety switches on everything. It the PTO was on and you stood up, it would shut down. You could not start it unless everything was in neutral positions. It was an HST. You had to be sitting in the seat to do just about anything!

My LS XG3025 (MT225E) is a 12 /12 gear, it does not have a seat switch. The shuttle has to be in neutral, but it can be in any gear. No brake / parking brake switch. The clutch has a little catch bracket to lock the clutch. When you do lock the clutch pedal down, you can start the tractor from standing on the ground. I can also engage the PTO from the ground. I can get the tractor to move forward or backwards by just using the hydraulic shuttle lever by pushing it lightly, not fully engaging it. I usually will not do that, even though I could.

Do I think SOME people NEED all these safety switches? Absolutely YES! Do some have enough common sense and experience to use equipment without them? Absolutely YES!